Sitting Sen. Rick Brattin, who represents the 31st district, is running for reelection in the Aug. 6 Missouri primary. The district represents Cass, Johnson and Bates counties just south of Kansas City.  Brattin, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who has focused on hot-button issues related to gun rights and anti-LGBTQ efforts, faces a […] The post In Missouri Senate District 31, a Freedom Caucus incumbent faces a challenge from two House members appeared first on The Beacon.

Wichita faces a looming budget shortfall, forcing the City Council to pick between raising taxes or cutting back services.  “The city is facing challenges,” District 4 Council Member Dalton Glasscock said. “We’re thoughtfully weighing how we can still provide excellent service for our citizens.” City Manager Robert Layton suggested several cost-cutting measures for the 2025 […] The post City Council debates cuts or tax hikes as Wichita faces budget crunch in 2026 appeared first on The Beacon.

And after an encouraging start, NKC Schools saw achievement plunge at its year-round schools, accompanied by high teacher and student turnover.  The post Year-round school is out at three KC-area schools, but another says it’s boosting test scores appeared first on The Beacon.

Incumbent state Rep. Carl Maughan suspended his reelection campaign after a DUI arrest. That drew three challengers — Steve Huebert, Jesse McCurry and Darren Pugh — into the Republican primary for District 90. The winner of the primary takes on Tracy Edingfield in the general election this November.  The primary election is Aug. 6. You […] The post Steve Huebert, Jesse McCurry, Darren Pugh running in Wichita Kansas House Republican primary for District 90 appeared first on The Beacon.

Two conservative candidates — Jill Ward and David Hickman — are running for a Kansas House seat after the retirement of longtime state Rep. Brenda Landwehr. Landwehr was first elected in 1997 and stayed in office until 2012. She then returned to office in 2017. But her possible replacements in the Republican primary have little to no political experience. The winner of the primary takes on John Burke in the general election this November.

A politically charged Missouri law that would prevent pharmacists from counseling patients or doctors about ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, two treatments that have been debunked for COVID-19, has been on hold for two years in federal court. Yet the Missouri Board of Pharmacy posted a guidance statement at the end of...

Traffic experts and city planners in Kansas City have tried to make it quick and easy to drive in and out of downtown. At the time, it was great for getting office workers home in time for dinner. But over the years, interstates and highways bloomed to carry commuters into and out of the city center more quickly. That meant four-lane surface streets became an overbuilt legacy. With so many lanes and so little traffic, drivers went faster and the roads became, counterintuitively, more dangerous. The post Kansas City knows which streets are most dangerous. Now, it’s trying to fix them appeared first on The Beacon.

Kansas primary voters will decide Aug. 6 who will survive for the general election in races for the U.S. House of Representatives and seats in the state Legislature. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Tuesday, July 16. Think of a primary election as a semifinal round,...

Beacon reporter Josh Merchant published an in-depth story in December 2022 explaining why Kansas City is the only major city in the United States without control over its own police department — and the role pro-slavery forces played in its oversight. The reporting showed how state control of policing...

Eight people have died in traffic crashes along Ward Parkway since 2022, and four of those crashes happened when cars cruised past a red light or stop sign. People make mistakes. Even the most experienced drivers misjudge the timing on a yellow light or roll through a stop sign.  But on roads like Ward Parkway — where traffic regularly tops the 35 mph speed limit — such mistakes prove deadly. The post Kansas City’s red-light camera revival and the car crash trade-off that comes with it appeared first on The Beacon.

What’s the harm in asking? Abortion rights supporters say quite a bit. Republicans in the state Legislature are trying to gather more data about the practice.  Starting July 1, any medical professional performing an abortion is required by Kansas statute to ask patients their reasons for getting it. The law passed the Kansas Legislature this […] The post The newest abortion law in Kansas requires putting questions to patients. Here’s what that means appeared first on The Beacon.

In cases where one party is heavily favored to win, or is even running unopposed, the primary election could be your best chance to influence who ends up in office.  The post What’s on your Missouri primary ballot this August appeared first on The Beacon.

For Ed Ball, everything old is new again in the aviation industry. He began working at Metal Finishing Co. 25 years ago and watched Boeing spin off Spirit AeroSystems in 2005. Now Ball is a vice president at the aviation supplier, and he’s watching history reverse itself as Boeing buys back Spirit.

Bobby Harlan gazed over the shuttered grounds of Park Elementary School, which he attended 32 years ago, and shared his disappointment about its future. “How can it be a homeless shelter?” he said. “This neighborhood needs a school.”. First came the news in March that Wichita schools would...

The cost of holding someone in a Missouri county jail for those days and months before and after a conviction ultimately falls to the state. In 2024, the state spent about $50 million to reimburse counties for the cost. But it’s had trouble keeping up with that tab. That’s left counties stuck with most of […] The post Missouri counties say they lose money housing people headed to state prison appeared first on The Beacon.

The 2026 World Cup will squeeze Kansas City’s already tight housing market in ways that could make shelter particularly scarce for homeless people. Many thousands of soccer fans flocking to the region will need places to stay. But some housing experts say that the World Cup’s short-term impact on the housing market could prod the […] The post World Cups displace homeless people. What’s Kansas City’s plan for the event in 2026? appeared first on The Beacon.

After serving 43 years in prison for a murder case hinged on things she said as a psychiatric patient, Sandra Hemme could be cleared of the killing and freed in less than three weeks, by July 14. For that, Missouri state law promises $100 a day for each day of...

Michael Mullen donates blood plasma every Tuesday and Thursday. He has for 12 years. The money it brings in — a little over $100 a week — augments what he makes as a chef. He’s come to rely on it. “It helps supplement bill paying,” he said recently, smoking a cigarette outside the Biomat USA […] The post Plasma you sell in east Kansas City could end up in medicine an ocean away appeared first on The Beacon.

Shana Balton expects a bigger say before endorsing Wichita Public Schools’ big buildings plan. “The board needs to be willing to meet the community,” she said, “so that board members can understand how we are feeling.”. Balton, a teacher at Pleasant Valley Middle School, learned more about...

Beacon reporter Trace Salzbrenner published a series of articles in the summer and fall of 2022 that explored how Wichita elected school board members — and the ways that tended to stifle the votes of minority neighborhoods. His reporting showed that a citywide voting system essentially diminished the political influence of Wichita’s Black residents..  “I […] The post How The Beacon helped bring attention to Wichita USD 259’s school district voting process appeared first on The Beacon.